The Foundation of Humor Humor is a product of reality construction meanings--a contrasting of the conventional and the unconventional.

The Dynamics of Humor: "Getting It" To get a joke the listener must understand two realities, theirs and the one telling the joke.

The Topics of Humor Humor is often used by different groups in society to question the interests of those they oppose. While humor is universal, what is viewed as funny is not. Yet, everywhere humor is closely tied to what is controversial. There is also a fine line between what is funny and what is "sick"  or ‘offensive’ and that is often subjective.

The Functions of Humor The universality of humor reflects its function as a safety valve. Sentiments can be expressed that might be dangerous if taken seriously.

Humor and Conflict Humor is often used by different groups in society to question the interests of those they oppose such as "put-down" jokes.

SAMPLE:  There was an international conference on space travel. The Americans, Russians, and Polish all sent scientific teams to present their plans for space achievements in the 21st century. The Russian delegate stood up first. The delegate said, “Comrades, the Russian space agency has laid out a plan which will make Russians the first men on Mars by 2010!” The audience applauded, and the delegate sat down.

The American delegate was next. “NASA has developed a plan for American astronauts to reach Saturn by the year 2010!” Again the audience applauded, and the American delegate sat down.

Finally, the Polish delegate stood up. “My colleagues have presented some amazing plans for future space travel, but the Polish space agency has developed a plan which I think will show them all up.” The audience listened intently. “Friends, the Polish space agency has laid out a plan for Poles to land on the Sun by 2010!”

The audience sat in stunned silence. Finally, one of the Americans yelled out, “How can you land on the Sun? The ship and crew will be burned to a crisp!”

The Polish delegate chuckled smugly and said, “Ah, you see, the Polish space agency anticipated that problem and we’ve figured out a strategy to get around it.”

“Which is?”

“You see, we’re going to land at night.”